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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §44.7.57.pr

Invalidity of Contracts Due to Mutual Error

Passage 7342 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The passage discusses the impact of error (lack of mutual consent) on the validity of transactions, explaining that if there is a mistake between the parties, the transaction is void, a rule which also applies to partnerships founded on consent.

[IDEM libro trigesimo sexto ad Quintum Mucium. ] §44.7.57.prIn omnibus negotiis contrahendis, siue bona fide sint siue non sint, si error aliquis interuenit, ut aliud sentiat puta qui emit aut qui conducit, aliud qui cum his contrahit, nihil ualet quod acti sit.
[THE SAME, On Quintus Mucius, Book XXXVI] In all transactions to be contracted, whether they are in good faith or not, if any error intervenes, so that, for example, the buyer or the hirer thinks one thing, and the person contracting with them thinks another, what has been done has no validity.
et idem in societate quoque coeunda respondendum est, ut, si dissentiant aliud alio existimante, nihil ualet ea societas, quae in consensu consistit.
And the same opinion must be given also in entering into a partnership, so that, if they disagree, each thinking a different thing, that partnership, which consists in consent, has no validity.

Notes

  1. §44.7.57.prquod acti sit — quod is a nominative relative pronoun, and acti is the genitive neuter singular of the perfect passive participle actus, functioning as a partitive genitive qualifying quod (literally, 'what of that which has been done'). It is equivalent to quod actum est or quod actum sit. The subjunctive sit indicates a hypothetical or conditional nuance within the relative clause.
  2. §44.7.57.praliud alio existimante — An ablative absolute construction consisting of the ablative singular alio (from alius, 'another person') and the present participle existimante. The accusative aliud is the direct object of the participle. It concisely expresses the lack of mutual consent ('while one person thinks one thing, and another thinks another').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §44.7.57.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:44.7.57.pr

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